Walsh's Winter in Europe 2018: Have you got the tickets?

Halfway to the bus stop from our hotel a little voice from behind asks me "have you got the tickets?" I stopped and turned to Katie and said, "no, you normally carry them".

Thankfully the bus stop is close and we didn't need to track back far however it does make me think of the unofficial roles each of us has assigned ourselves on this trip.

I would be the logistics person, have google maps in hand and a clear path planned out with also a backup plan in case of road closures or buses just not appearing. I also try to have contingencies for the contingency plans that don't work. For instance this afternoon I planned after the Vatican we would leisurely stroll through Rome back to our hotel, or if we were tired catch a bus. We were tired after the Vatican Museum, but we didn't know what bus or where to find one. Normally I get out the phone, find free WiFi and then Google tells us the bus and where to board. Today, however, in the area of the Vatican, I couldn't get free WiFi (apart from the hospital WiFi but I needed a patient ID to log in). So our backup to the backup plan kicked in, get a TAXI. From where we were it only cost 11euro and was well worth resting our little feet.

Katie's unassigned and unlisted role would be to make sure our pre-purchased tickets are on hand each day, to be on the lookout for a toilet or a cafe that would be a nice place to stop and to know the location of our passports at all times.

We both also have the role of security, which is more important in the large cities like Florence and Rome. I don't mean carrying weapons and wearing a flack jacket, but looking out for each other. These cities are rife with pickpockets and opportunists and when one of us is taken in by the scene presented to us, for example, a magnificent building or the bend in the river with the ancient Roman bridge, the other is on the lookout for gipsies, African scammers, Romanians or other opportunists.

Anyway, for the first time, Katie forgot to get the ticket from out suitcase this morning. It was ok, we went back to the hotel and collected them, not bad for someone who has been sleeping in someone else's bed for almost 4 weeks!

Today we caught bus 492 toward the Vatican, it was hot inside and crowded, to the point we almost got off early.

Thankfully we were able to hang in and made it to the Vatican where we had to pass the gauntlet of 'Tourist Info' officers. These are fake helpers that blanket the streets near the Museum entrance and try to get your attention and sell tickets to the museum along with tours.

It is difficult to be rude and ignore these fake 'Tourist Info' officers, but there is no way to get through otherwise.

As we had been to the Vatican in 2012 on a tour, we had a specific path and list of items we wanted to see, for Katie it was the Egyptian section and me it was the Gallery of Maps. We both wanted to see the Sistine Chapel and then, of course, St Peters Basilica.

Arezzo, Lucignano and Cortona

Lake Trasimeno

Thankfully we were able to get in to see what we wanted.

I would like to note however, how disrespectful some tourists can be. One should never, ever, touch a piece in a museum, be it a painting or a stone. Numerous times both Katie and I saw visitors to the museums touching items. A museum is one of those places where one can look, but not touch.